


Quicquid Capit

by Amurtinyburr12



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic, F/M, Poor Merlin, Post-Magic Reveal, Sassy Merlin, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-08
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-30 13:42:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5165933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amurtinyburr12/pseuds/Amurtinyburr12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Merlin has revealed his magic to Arthur, he believes he may have lost the prince's trust for good. What will it take to regain their friendship? </p><p>The answer is simple of course: gain the prince's trust back by doing whatever it takes. When a trouble making sorcerer comes to Camelot disguised as a noble, Merlin, obviously, must defeat him, and the two sorcerers have it out in the throne room. They blast each other to oblivion while Uther sits deafly nearby, no more than twenty feet away, as Arthur desperately tries to distract his father.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quicquid Capit

**Author's Note:**

> This is set during the rule of King Uther so Arthur is still the prince 
> 
> Also, credit to someone on Tumblr. I found this prompt, and I thought it'd be chill to write it. I don't know if it really turned out how I imagined, but that's aight.

It had only been a few short weeks since the discovery of Merlin's magic, and Merlin figured everything was getting on well enough, though Arthur had not spoken to him once since his confession. He tried to remain optimistic, after all his head was still on his shoulders and his body remained free of burns. But, even after an allotted amount of time it's easy to begin to doubt oneself.

"If Arthur is really upset with me," The brown haired warlock began one evening, as he and Gaius, the court physician, sat at the dinner table sharing a meal. "Why hasn't he killed me?"

The look Gaius gave him was one of slight confusion, which wasn't really an uncommon facial expression for him when it came to Merlin's ramblings. "How do you mean?" 

Merlin wiped his mouth with his sleeve and shrugged. "I don't understand why he won't speak with me. Well, I know why, I just want to know why he doesn't say or do anything...it's been nearly a month after he discovered I could-you know..." He glanced around the room as if afraid King Uther were present and settled for making a hand gesture instead, wiggling his fingers in a suggestive way. 

Gaius set his spoon down and a troubled look appeared on his face, another expression that was not uncommon when talking to Merlin. "I don't know why Arthur refuses to speak with you," he admitted slowly, eyes meeting Merlin's saddened ones. "No man can know what goes on in another's head. All I can say, for sure, is that Arthur is your destiny and eventually will see sense. Whether it be today, tomorrow or even years into the future he'll come around and you must not give up on him."

Merlin sagged into his chair, frown deepening as he pondered his mentor's words. "Destiny is a prat," He finally deduced, yawning as he did so.

Gaius merely lifted an eyebrow at his ward before standing to collect the dishes. "You'd better get some sleep, my boy. Tomorrow's a bright new day. Who knows? Arthur may come to his senses by then."

Merlin tiredly got to his feet and pushed his chair in. "Doubtfully," he blinked then gave the old physician a warm smile. "Goodnight, Gaius."

"Goodnight, Merlin." Gaius watched him go, his affection for the boy evident in his voice. There were no people who could claim that Gaius did not love Merlin as if he were his own son, though Merlin might argue that whenever he was asked to clean the leech tank.

**__________________________________________**

The next day, Merlin woke feeling more hopeful about the whole situation than he had in ages. _Whatever it takes_ , he told himself the second he awoke. Whatever it took to get back into Arthur's good graces, he must try. Humming brightly to himself he slipped on his boots and jacket before donning his favorite red neckerchief and opening his bedroom door to find Gaius snoring softly in his cot. With practiced ease, he crept over to the man who'd taken him in and pulled up the blankets around his chin, before ducking, as quietly as he could, out the door. 

The way to the palace kitchen was relatively short, compared to the trek it took to get to Arthur's room. Audrey, the short tempered chef, was bustling about the kitchen shouting orders at poor servants, just as she did everyday. Merlin easily avoided her and made his way over to the oven to peer down at whatever she was trying to kill people with today and wrinkled his nose at the nasty smell that greeted him. Fighting not to cough, the prince's manservant put a hand to his abused nostrils and snatched up the waiting tray of Arthur's breakfast. He passed a few nice female servants on his way out, and offered them a sincere "good morning ladies", to which they responded with giggles and blushes.

After maneuvering out of the chaos of the cookery, Merlin routinely jogged up the stairs, careful not to spill the contents of the tray. The last time he'd spilled Arthur's breakfast he'd been shoved into the stocks for a good hour, though it hadn't really been his fault. Arthur had thrown a pillow at him, causing him to stumble backwards and trip over himself. But  _no_ the royal prat would never admit it was his fault and Merlin, not uncommonly, paid the price.

Without knocking, not that he ever did, Merlin pushed the doors to the prince's room open and easily made his way to Arthur's bed. He set the breakfast tray down on the nightstand before gliding to the window and throwing the curtains back while announcing, "Up you get lazy daisy!"

Sunlight flooded the room and Arthur's visible lumpy self shifted in the expensive sheets. "G'way Merlin," the prince mumbled, annoyance seeping from his words. 

"Don't think so," Merlin beamed, grabbing a corner of the comforter and with one dramatic sweep of his arms the blanket was pulled backmercilessly, exposing the clotpole to the frigid elements. 

Arthur sat up quickly, his mouth open as if to speak before he clamped it shut again, just remembering he wasn't speaking to his manservant anymore.

Merlin continued on as if Arthur had reprehended him, though he hadn't missed the flash of irritation in his masters eyes. "You've got lots of things to do today, sums on those horrible taxes you make us all pay, practice with the knights, though possibly not Gwaine, I heard he was out drinking late last night and one of those grand old meetings with the council, which I know you enjoy."

Arthur, for his part, had merely just picked up his breakfast and begun half-halfheartedly picking at it. After a long moment of silence with Merlin standing awkwardly at the prince's bed, while said prince kept his eyes locked firmly on his sausages, Arthur finally released a loud sigh before meeting his manservant's gaze. "Why are you talking to me?"

A little taken aback by Arthur's words, Merlin couldn't think of an immediate response. "Because you're my friend?" He tried, shifting rather uncomfortably.

The tension between the two was evident, Merlin was clearly trying to pick up where they'd left off since the fateful day Merlin had told Arthur of his magic. Nothing had been the same since, though not for lack of effort on Merlin's part. Arthur didn't know if he wanted to go back to the friendship they'd once had. He didn't know if he could.

More silence ensued and Merlin, after he accepted that Arthur had no more to say to him, went about picking up discarded clothing from the floor and slinging them over his shoulder. How did that arse manage to dirty a room in the few hours since Merlin left? Merlin often wondered if Arthur ran about throwing things randomly after he was dismissed for the day, just to give him something to do in the morning.

Arthur watched him with wary eyes, half wondering as he had been for the past few weeks, what Merlin had hoped to achieve by infiltrating the castle. It would help probably, if he'd allowed Merlin to continue when he'd started explaining about his magic, but he hadn't and Arthur wasn't about to ask him now.

The conversation, which he replayed daily in his head, had gone something like this:

The crown prince of Camelot had been sitting at his desk in the wee hours of the morning, staring bleakly at large piles of parchment, when the door had cracked open unexpectedly.

"Arthur? I...I've got to talk to you."

He'd turned at the familiar voice, ready to reprimand his servant for entering without knocking, but something in Merlin's face had stopped him.

"It's important," Merlin had continued, the sound of his soft footsteps growing closer.

"What's so important you've got to tell me so early in the morning?" Arthur had rolled his eyes, thinking it may be that Merlin had had a nightmare. (It had happened once before, though they'd been out in the forest on a hunt when it had happened. Arthur wouldn't acknowledge later that he'd actually been so worried for his manservant that he'd held him until the boy had fallen asleep again...)

"I-I..." Merlin's voice wavered and it sounded as if he were choking, or crying. Arthur had secretly hoped it was the former, a choking Merlin he could deal with but a crying Merlin was much harder to solve.

"Spit it out then," Arthur had snapped, a little shocked at his own harshness but not regretful enough to apologize or try to retract his brunt words.

"I have magic."

Those three words stole away into his mind, and Arthur had only stared at Merlin disbelievingly. Merlin could not have magic. But here he was, telling him that he did. Why? It made no sense. Arthur, not knowing what else to do had turned around and back to his papers, trying to hold himself together. Surely, there was an explanation. He was dreaming, that was it. Merlin didn't have magic.

But the reasonable part of Arthur had known he wasn't dreaming and that this was all too real, the way Merlin's voice had trembled and the slight quaking of his legs as he approached his prince.

The sound of a throat being cleared had chased Arthur's thoughts away, if not momentarily. "Arthur, I've only ever used it for you. I just wanted to protect you and...and I-"

"Get out." The prince couldn't bear the sound of Merlin's voice, hearing it made his heart ache. Arthur was so disoriented that he couldn't bring himself to care that his words had more venom in them then he had originally meant.

"But-"

_"Get out."_

 Still, as Arthur watched Merlin now, gathering his dirty laundry, he could not find one thing about the boy that told him he was evil.

It made no sense. Magic was evil, and Merlin had magic. But how could Merlin possibly be evil? 

"Will that be all,  _sire_?" Merlin asked formally, all joyful emotion void from his face. It was a wonder how Merlin managed to make a formal title sound completely the opposite, as if Arthur were the scum of the earth. 

Arthur blinked, then nodded. "I'll dress myself. You are dismissed for the rest of the day." To both their surprise, his words held no anger and it was almost as if the two weren't in the midst of a great disagreement. 

Merlin snatched up Arthur's dirty dishes, shifting all the clothes under his armpit, bowed sloppily, and slipped out the door without even another glance.

**__________________________________________**

Merlin knew having a day off was tempting fate, but in his eagerness to get away from the Prince Dollophead he'd left without complaint and settled in his chamber by the fire with a good book in his lap. Trust Arthur to forget a few nobles were visiting that day, one of whom was a sorcerer in disguise.

The only reason he'd even moved from his spot by the hearth was because he'd finished his book and decided a trip to the library to find the sequel was worth the journey across half the castle. However, once on his way, he passed by the guest chambers for nobility and heard hushed voices from inside, along with a glowing blue light seeping through the crack in the bottom. The warlock, frowned and gave the door a suspicious once over, before moving over to it and pressing his ear to it so he could eavesdrop more easily.

"Uther may not suspect us, but his son it is said is very keen and would be onto us quickly," A man with a slightly high pitched voice was saying, speaking quickly like he was in a hurry.

"It's a risk we will have to take if we are to manipulate the king. If prince Arthur catches on, we'll just have to get him under our control, as well." A different voice responded, this one much more gruff and masculine sounding.

"I don't know if we should go through with this. Oliver, are you absolutely sure this trap will work?" The girly-sounding man asked and there was silence until a screech made it's way to Merlin's ears. "Ow!" The high pitched man howled indignantly, the sounds of scuffling following quickly. 

"You shouldn't touch that," The deep voiced man scolded. "The magic inside of it is strong and if they'd been activated could have altered your mind completely."

Merlin's eyes widened in shock upon hearing those words, and so startled was he that he slipped slightly and he knocked his head against the door, loud enough for the two people inside to hear. The young wizard gulped, praying silently in his mind that they had not heard him.

A long pause went on before the two continued on. "Uther is holding a banquet in a few minutes, it would be foolish of us to forsake this opportunity," the rough sounding man commented, sounding almost distracted.

"Indeed it would. Who knew fate could provide us with such a well-timed and convenient opening?" His companion replied, his voice sounded much to close to the door for Merlin's liking. Too late, the manservant realized he should have run when he had the chance. The door swung open without warning, and Merlin, caught completely unawares, promptly faceplanted through the doorway.

"Well," the man with the rough voice, who was actually an old man, quite thin and spindly in appearance, said, "looks like we've caught ourselves a test subject." 

Copernicus, whom was exactly the opposite of his voice (large and burly), laughed squeakily and roughly hauled Merlin to his feet by his hair. "Been playing at being a spy then, are we?"

Merlin, slightly dazed, only managed to look stunned and opened his mouth but thought better of it and didn't speak.

"Bring 'im here," the man who Copernicus had called Oliver, sneered slightly, which was completely unbecoming for his age and unattractive pig like features. Merlin, to his credit, began to kick and struggle in earnest but a punch to the gut from Copernicus was enough to cease his attempts of escape. Merlin considered using magic, but decided only to use it as a last resort. He was rather curious after all.

A glowing blue ball floated in the middle of the room, similar to the one he'd used to lead Arthur to the plant that would cure him of poisoning.

Once he'd been manhandled over to the peculiar thing, Oliver grabbed Merlin's face roughly between his elderly fingers and squeezed savagely. "Ever been mind controlled before, youngster?"

Merlin resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead glared evenly at the sorcerer. "Can't say that I ever have," he whispered, as loud as he could go while his face was gripped so tightly. His voice came out calmer than he'd expected. "It's really unfortunate that my first time's going to be with you two prats."

The two merely grinned shamelessly, and Oliver's grip on Merlin tightened, though the warlock hadn't thought it possible.

"Banquet's starting," Copernicus interrupted. "We'd better go Oliver, or we'll look suspicious. Just knock him out and we'll deal with him later."

Before Merlin could even defend himself, Oliver had already chanted one ancient word from the Old Religion and though he tried to resist, his vision began to darken and he knew no more. 

**__________________________________________**

Merlin woke feeling groggy and out of sorts. It took several moments for him to recollect his thoughts and remember what had happened.  _Trap. Arthur. King. Sorcerer._ It all came rushing back in a jumble of thoughts and he made to move but came to three observations. The first was, that even though his eyes were open, he could not see. The second was, he could not move his arms nor his legs, and it felt as if there were sharp rope cutting into his skin. And lastly, it would seem he was in a wooden chest or something of that nature because he felt completely cramped and sore from having been kept in a small cramped space for so long.

With a groan he shifted slightly then muttered incoherently to himself and the lid to the chest popped open and the ropes around his ankles and wrists slipped off. Something fell off the chest with a loud  _crash_ and Merlin poked his head out, hair rumpled and clothes disheveled. He stood on wobbly legs, and noted the large heavy chain mail his capturers had put over the lid, probably to ensure he couldn't escape. Where had they gone anyway?

Oh yeah. The feast.

With a sigh, Merlin glanced out the window, observing the sun sinking quickly behind the mountains, then closing his eyes briefly took a deep breathe and raced out of the room in the direction of the banquet hall.

It was only by sheer luck that Merlin managed to find all four of the nobles, Copernicus and Oliver walking pleasantly with Arthur and Uther toward the throne room. Quickly, the servant followed, blending in with the shadows (which was fairly easy since he'd been doing that for a good portion of his life).

"How extravagant your throne must be," Oliver was saying, his voice full of adoration. 

"Oh well, I'm not one to brag but it is indeed very fine," Uther replied, being an utter pompous as usual. "It's got the most lovely places to rest your arms...if you'd like I can show how I sit upon it."

"That would be fascinating my lord!" Oliver grinned pleasantly, feigning enthusiasm. 

"If your prince-ship might head back to the feast, we'd love to speak with the king alone." Copernicus suggested smoothly, speaking to Arthur kindly.

Arthur however, looked less than impressed and he had the same look he got on his face when Merlin told him a joke and the prince didn't find it particularly amusing. "No, I believe I'd rather stay here and listen to the two of you chatter and continue feeding my father praises." 

Merlin stifled a laugh, it was good to see he wasn't a complete idiot without his servant present.

Copernicus appeared to be biting his lip, and Oliver merely gave his companion a warning look. The four disappeared into the throne room and Merlin, swearing softly, hurried after them, casting an invisibility spell as he went. The warlock was only barely able to slip between the doors as the guards closed them, and the sleeve of his tunic nearly got trapped within the pieces of wood.

"Yes, that looks very kingly," Oliver was still complimenting Uther, sounding much more strained and fake than just a few moments ago. "Can you show us how it looks with your eyes closed?" 

Arthur's brow furrowed and he stepped forward from where he stood by Copernicus. "Why would my father do that?"

Uther glared at his son, looking very dissapointed in him for speaking out of turn. "Arthur, these visitors wish to see their king in action. I will not deny them of such a precious moment."

Merlin wanted to raise his own eyebrow, but he knew no one could see him. Sometimes, he wondered, how Camelot hadn't burned long ago with this man on the throne.

Uther closed his eyes, and Arthur glanced between the two visiting nobles suspiciously, but said nothing else.

Oliver reached under the garments of his robe and presented the glowing blue ball with flourish, before bringing it forth to touch the king's forehead with it.

"What are you doing?" Arthur asked incredulously, hand instinctively flying to his sword belt, which was in fact not there because he hadn't thought to bring it to a feast.

 "Hush Arthur," Uther replied, mistaking Arthur's comment for one directed at him. The king reclined back into his throne, eyes still shut firmly, and smiled. "You see gentlemen? If one holds their back straight like so, you appear much more formidable though you are the one sitting and not standing." 

Merlin took Copernicus' and Oliver's moment of distraction to release his invisibility spell and fling the two backwards into a wall. Uther, still talking, stayed oblivious to the sudden development while Arthur gaped like a fish out of water.

Copernicus, was no sorcerer, merely a helping hand, and was knocked out instantaneously by the force of the throw. Oliver however, appeared to have stronger magic than Merlin had assumed, and got up faster than a man of his age should have been able to.

"It's much more comfortable as well, if you elevate your arms like this..." Uther drawled on as Oliver blasted Merlin backwards with a simple flash of his eyes.

Merlin, thankfully, did not hit anything as he flew through the air, and managed to clamber back into a standing position without too much trouble. (His side was killing him though, bruised ribs would be a blessing, if not broken ones.)

Oliver smiled wickedly, eyes dancing insanely. "Well, it appears you are more than I had assumed."

Uther, slumped a little more into his throne and shrugged slightly. "I am more the man the most people assume I am. Ever since the death of Ygraine..." 

Merlin tuned the king out and glared at Oliver, whom looked a little more than put off by the king's monologuing. "You are more than I assumed," Oliver repeated, staring directly at Merlin. "It would seem that you are a sor-"

"A superior king!" Arthur jumped in quickly, shooting Merlin a look and grabbing Uther's arm and pulling him off the throne. "Let's go father, it's high time we returned to the feast."

Uther opened his eyes and scowled at his son. "How dare you speak to the king of Camelot in such a fashion! If you weren't my son I'd have you thrown into the dungeons for a week."

Oliver cackled wildly behind Uther and sent a blast of fire in the king's direction. Merlin quickly deflected it without a word and sent it back at the old man. Oliver barely managed to sidestep his own spell and grunted in annoyance.

"I'm afraid Arthur is right though, we've been absent from the feast far too long." Uther called over his shoulder, picking dismissively at a thread on his coat sleeve. 

Oliver, too busy trying to kill Merlin, did not respond. Arthur glanced between his seemingly deaf father and his manservant whom was busy protecting the two of them and nervously urged his father toward the door. "Let's go then...heh...I heard Sir Richard wanted to regale us with tales of the giant snake he encountered in the forest this morning." Arthur brought a hand to his father's shoulder and began guiding him gently to the exit.

"Oh, hold on, I think I left my wedding ring by the throne," Uther patted his son on the back and started to turn around.

At this moment, Oliver chose to let loose an ungodly shriek as he was assaulted with a whirlwind that Merlin had conjured.

"Goodness, Oliver, are you quite alright?" Uther asked, just as Arthur grabbed his fathers cheek and turned it back toward him. "No! Don't!"

Uther stared at his son in confusion. "Don't do what Arthur? Are you ill? Shall we go to Gaius?"

Arthur squinted then nodded quickly. "Er...yes, yes. I am feeling very unwell. Let's go to Gaius."

Merlin shouted as Oliver magjicked an arrow out of thin air and shot it at him, only just able to dive out of the way and rolled with as much grace as a new born foal across the stone floor.

Arthur shot another dirty look in Merlin's direction as if trying to say  _could you tone it down over there?_

Merlin, if looks could kill, would have made Arthur drop dead on the spot.  _I'm sorry, is the sound of me dying an issue?_

Uther pulled Arthur in for an embrace, and the prince wondered just how much his father had drunk for the few hours they'd been at the feast. "I'm sorry I've been so harsh on you Arthur," the king of Camelot slurred. "It's just that you need to be a strong leader and keep your head straight. I fear sometimes you feel like you don't know me, or think me a fool for killing all those witches and wizards. But there is a method to what may appear as madness, and I will not tolerate any use of magic used in Camelot. Someday, my son, you will understand this."

A ripple of energy pulsed through the room, and Arthur's hair stood straight on end. He grimaced and peered at Merlin once more from over his father's shoulder. The serving boy stood locked in combat, glowing eyes and hands held high while the evil sorcerer mirrored his stance. Both appeared to be taking turns blasting one another with energy, and Arthur half wondered why Merlin waited for his opponent to recover. It was almost polite, the way the allowed one another a chance to catch their breath and launch a new spell at one another. _No no, after you. Please kill me first._

Another wave of energy swept through the room, and the two Pendragons stumbled a little. "Wow, what a breeze," Arthur stammered, trying to pull free of his father's hug.

Uther held his son firmly and continued as if he had not felt the peculiar 'wind'. "Arthur, I want you to know that I only wish the best for you."

The miniature tornado Merlin had created reappeared and pushed Oliver against the wall, and the old sorcerer gave Merlin a nasty glare, worse than Arthur's in the morning, before chanting a spell to himself and he and Copernicus disappeared into thin air. Merlin slumped against the wall, and panted heavily to catch his breath. 

The prince forcefully pushed himself away from his father's hug, which had been held uncomfortably too long, and gave his father an endearing smile nevertheless. "Of course father, I understand." It was a blatant lie but Uther didn't pick up on it.

"Good," Uther nodded. "Let's get to Gaius then. Can't have you falling ill when you've got so many meetings to attend tomorrow."

"Wouldn't that be a shame," Arthur commented dryly.

The two, father and son, exited the room, the king still unknowing of the magic battle that had just taken place behind him.

**__________________________________________**

"How did you know my father was in danger?" Arthur asked tiredly as Merlin helped him into bed, later that night.

Merlin smiled, that quirky grin of his. "Long story, maybe another time prat."

Arthur huffed indignantly. "You can't speak to me like that."

His words held no real venom, and Merlin practically floated as he realized they were slipping back into their normal banter. "I saved your father and you today, I can say whatever I like," the warlock argued, his point annoyingly valid. 

There was another one of those long moments of silence which they seemed to have a lot of nowadays, consisting of Merlin propping up the pillows behind Arthur's head and patting the sheets a bit before Arthur decided he had to say what needed to be said.

"Merlin," he began almost hesitantly. "I'm...I'm sorry for how I've treated you this past month and I...I see now you've been nothing but a good and loyal friend to me all this time."

His manservant glanced up from his task, eyes wide and hopeful. "Arthur..." For once, the boy seemed at loss for words.

Arthur smiled and then suddenly Merlin was hugging him and surprisingly Arthur was hugging him _back._

"Thank you Arthur," Merlin grinned, and for the moment, he was not just Arthur's servant but his friend and confident. 

The prince, looked Merlin in the eyes and with complete seriousness said, "No, Merlin.  _Thank you._ "


End file.
